"Your understanding of what you read and hear is, to a very large degree, determined by your vocabulary so improve your vocabulary daily", Zig Ziglar

To start with we should ask yourselves this question: Is learning vocabulary a key factor to grow our language skills?

And the answer is definitely yes!

By learning new vocabulary on a daily basis you'll be also improving the 4 skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

In fact, the more you expand your vocabulary as a Portuguese Language learner, the more you develop your knowledge and language skills, and ultimately your literacy.

If you master a diversified set of words in Portuguese it allows you to become more confident, even look smarter, and at last, you truly communicate in a more efficient way your own ideas and thoughts.

Also, it strengthens your writing skills, phonetic awareness, phonics, comprehension, and fluency.

Surely everyone that is learning a new language has had the experience of once looking at a text and not knowing what was written there because you didn't recognize the words on it! Of course, this has happened to you!

And research shows us that vocabulary knowledge is strongly related to reading comprehension, and the more vocabulary you master, the better articulation you have, and the more effective your communication will be!

At the bottom line, it gives you the opportunity to think deeply and to be a problem-solving person and that's a skill for life!

Should I learn Portuguese vocabulary or is it enough to just read books, short stories, etc. in Portuguese?

Well, again studies have shown that explicit learning of vocabulary is very important in the process of growing as a Portuguese learner as it exposes you to words in different contexts and pushes you to practice it in different ways so that it becomes a natural element of your communication skills.

How can you practice Portuguese vocabulary at your own pace?

a) learn a new word every day and use it in different contexts;

This kind of videos are great to learn new words:

And here: https://youtube.com/shorts/AIfMb7GQf6A?feature=share

b) listen to Portuguese music and practice the new words you find in each song;

c) read books, short stories, etc, and use dictionaries to know the meaning of the unknown words;

d) Enroll yourself in a Vocabulary Course as it provides structured learning of words with a varied range of exercises.

As a matter of fact, courses are one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary skills and by doing so to achieve effective communication and fluency in the Portuguese language.

Therefore I'd like to introduce you to my own example of a Mini European Portuguese Vocabulary Course. Module 1: The Human Body in which you'll learn a whole set of words related to the Human body as a means of boosting your vocabulary skills.

What is more, you'll also learn all the idiomatic expressions using parts of the human body. A bonus in this course.

You can buy it here: https://pensight.com/x/portuguesewithana

To sum up I'd like to add that once you expand your vocabulary skills you'll then focus on more challenging aspects of the Portuguese language, regaining the confidence to perform and interact more efficiently, stepping up to the next level of being a Portuguese language learner. So, keep on practicing!